Flight recorder data recovered from the wreckage of Boeing 737 MAX planes that crashed in Ethiopia and Indonesia shows “clear similarities,” Addis Ababa said Sunday as the US maker announced it was finalizing a software update for its under fire anti-stall system. Pressure was mounting meanwhile on the US Federal Aviation Administration, which insisted it had followed standard procedures in certifying the plane model, even as it was reported to have come under investigation by the Department of Transport. “The 737 MAX certification program followed the FAA’s standard certification process,” the agency said in an email to AFP.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen struggled to answer questions from House Democrats about her role in implementing the Trump administration’s strict immigration policy and the subsequent family separation during her first hearing. At one point during Wednesday’s testimony, Ms Nielsen denied that migrant children separated from their families at the border were held in cages. “Sir, they are not cages, they are areas of the border facility that are carved out for the safety and protection of those who remain there while they’re being processed,” she responded during a tense exchange with House Homeland Security Committee Chair Bennie Thompson.

A US-based group that compiles data on sexual abuse by Catholic clerics and bishops accused of covering it up fears that a bid by Pope Francis to tackle the scandals is a case of too little, too late. Speaking ahead of a Vatican summit of bishops this week to discuss the crisis, Anne Barret Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, complained of a “disconnect” between the pontiff’s strong statements and his actions. The non-governmental organisation is taking part in a counter-summit of victims running alongside the Vatican event.

Gov. Newsom says he's ending the state's effort to build a high-speed rail line between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Newsom says he wants to continue construction of the high-speed link from Merced to Bakersfield.

A city council member from Texas has been forced to apologise after calling Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a “bimbo” in a now-deleted tweet directed at the congresswoman. Richardson City Councilman Scott Dunn replied to Ms Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter with the offending remarks, according to screenshots of the tweet that circulated online last week. “The embarrassment is to have bimbos like you with nothing between your ear,” Mr Dunn wrote.